When scuba diving a diver must add negative weight ballast to his body and/or equipment in order to descend below the surface of the water. The prior art form of negative ballast is normally a waist-worn weight belt. This weight belt is usually left on the diver's waist from the time he enters and exits the water. The weight belt adds a significant amount of dead weight to the diving equipment. This dead weight makes it difficult for a diver to exit the water and climb back into a boat while ocean diving. The one piece waist-worn weight belts are generally too heavy and awkward to remove and install in the water. It takes two hands to attach the weight belt around the waist. It is almost impossible to attach the belt while floating in the water. This prior art form also makes it difficult for a diver to stand and walk erect while beach diving or getting into the equipment on a pitching boat.
The traditional art form (waist-worn weight belts) also rub and bang against the diver's hips while making ascents and descents. This has a tendency to make diving uncomfortable. This art form also places the diver's body in tension because the weights are pulling them down from the waist while the buoyancy compensator is lifting him up from the shoulders and upper torso. This may cause undue muscle fatigue.
There are many different types of tank mounted weight ballast systems such as shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,932, issued to Toth on Dec. 19, 1989, entitled "Integral Buoyancy And Ballast System For Scuba Divers," and U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,334, issued to Vorhauer on Apr. 30, 1991, entitled "Buoyancy Compensator With Interchangeable Accessories."